Watch The Condemned

The Condemned is a harsh, yet beautiful documentary about a prison (Penal Colony 56) set in a desolate place in Russia. It is surrounded by endless forests. The closest town is hours away. At first glance, it resembles Stalin’s forced labor camps. 260 inmates that have committed murder, rely on the prisons strict protocol to keep them from going insane.

The film walks us through a world filled with sounds of life, yet reeking of despair. A few of these souls are allowed visits; most are not. The interviews allow the audience a chance to view what hope lost looks like. This documentary gives these men a chance to be remembered.

The Condemned is a 2013 mystery with a runtime of 1 hour and 31 minutes. It has received mostly poor reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 5.2 and a MetaScore of 29.